Lead restorer Marlene Sophia applying Dutch metal leaf to the underside of the balcony.
As “Big Bridges” approaches its 2031 centennial, its iconic ceiling mural, created by Italian American artist Giovanni Smeraldi, has undergone a full restoration supported by a $1 million donation from the Timken Foundation.
“The Smeraldi mural is a priceless work of art that should be preserved for future generations to enjoy,” says Kurt Timken ’86. It was Timken’s great-aunt, Amelia Bridges, who, with her husband, Appleton Bridges, funded the original construction of Big Bridges and Little Bridges, in memory of their daughter, Mabel, who died in 1907 during her junior year at Pomona.
Brooklyn-based EverGreene Architectural Arts carried out the restoration work, which began with assessing obvious damage—water staining, cracks from the 1994 Northridge earthquake and overall fading and peeling—and cleaning the entire ceiling with dry sponges. An elaborate scaffolding system allowed the conservators to reach every inch of the mural.
When audiences return to the auditorium this fall, the ceiling won’t look vastly different, just a little fresher. Since the last restoration in the 1970s, explains restorer Brynn Griffiths, “dirt and soot and smoke and time” have taken their toll. “A lot of the pigments that were used in the past,” she says, “were not light fast, and with time they discolor and oxidize.”
The most noticeable changes for audience members may be the proscenium arch and the underside of the balcony (EverGreene site lead Marlene Sophia is shown here applying Dutch metal leaf to that area). The restoration team was able to peel back an area of the tan paint that has covered it for the last 50 years and uncover the original colors and patterns beneath.